Friday, August 8, 2014

A couple weeks ago I wrote a
blog about lymphedema (see below). It was inspired by the three days I spent at
MD Anderson Cancer Center’s 10th Annual Integrative Oncology Training Conference
and I’ll tell you the truth: the first draft – the one only a few people ever
read – could be accurately described as a barely-controlled rant. I am forever
grateful to the clear eyes, calm heads, and kind feedback of the friends and
colleagues (you know who you are) who encouraged me to tone it down (a skill
that has never been my strong suit).

Time certainly cools tempers
(at least it does mine), but it does not cool passions. Today, inspired by Lauren Muser
Cates’s strong, eloquent writing in “Be Part
of the Solution” and yet another Internet
kerfuffle about a “healer” spewing nonsensical lies about essential oils and
Ebola, I’d like to revisit the passion that was flamed in my heart and brain at
MD Anderson. I’ll try to spare you the ranting, but no promises…

A great deal of the 3-day
conference at MD Anderson consisted of lectures given by oncology and
integrative medicine specialists who work at the hospital. Sitting in the large
conference hall, listening to these lectures, surrounded by nearly 300 massage
therapists, yoga teachers, and acupuncturists, I was struck by three things:

First, how cool was this?!
Physicians and massage therapists and yogis, oh my! All of us – lots of us –
all in the same room talking about oncology research and treatment.

Second, nearly all the
physicians and researchers who spoke gave the same sort of talk they would to
any other group of colleagues. There was no “dumbing down” of their information
or statistics. They addressed us as equals.

Third, (sigh) nearly all the
questions posed to the presenters were not so much questions as angry
accusations. There were a lot like this:

“Isn’t it true that if you
were prescribing ________ [insert essential oil, herbal supplement or vitamin of your choice here] your patients would experienceno unpleasant side-effects from
chemotherapy?”

“My husband works with a
woman who was diagnosed with cancer and she injected herself with hydrogen
peroxide and was completely cured. Why aren’t you offering your patients that
instead of these toxic chemo drugs?”

At first, the presenters
seemed to take this all in stride. They listened intently to questions and
answered them respectfully and thoughtfully. But as time went on the attendees appeared
less and less receptive. Their questions and comments were more and more
vitriolic, peppered with pseudo-science and outrageous claims. The presenters’
politeness got more and more strained and their answers stopped sounding
collegial and started sounding a lot like parents indulging a cranky toddler.

“Well, there are a lot of
things written on the Internet,” one researcher condescendingly replied when
asked about a type of diet, found online, that would lengthen telomeres and
allow us all to live cancer-free into our hundreds, “we need to approach everything
we read online with a bit of skepticism...”

It was astonishing and
deeply disappointing. I was sitting in a room full of educated people who have
devoted themselves to healing, to the service of people who are ill and in
pain, to what I believe is the ultimate form of loving-kindness, and yet the
hostility between them hung in the air so thick and heavy that I could feel it
sitting on my skin, stinging my eyes, and leaving a really bad taste in my mouth.

Finally, a physician who
specializes in advanced prostate cancer showed a crack in the façade. “Listen,”
she said slapping the podium, “I’m not trying to protect my job or something.
If there were a cure for cancer, I’d gladly do something else! I would love to
open a restaurant and cook for people all day!” The person sitting next to me
rolled his eyes and snorted audibly. I wanted to cry.

Here’s the thing: this was
an integrative medicine conference. Its
very name tells us it was an opportunity for medical and bodywork professionals
to come together. It was held at, and given by, one of the biggest cancer
hospitals in the world. A giant of "western medicine” reached out a hand to us and we slapped
it away.

I was reminding of something
Tom Myers
once said, “If we as bodyworkers want a seat at the medical table we’re going
to have to learn to walk the walk and talk the talk.” I think he was half
right.

I’m not a doctor. I’m a massage
therapist.

I don’t want a seat at the
medical table, but I’d like to be able to visit – maybe ask to borrow the salt
or see if it’s worth ordering the ravioli. And I want those folks at the
medical table to feel free to visit mine – “Hey, I’m a vegetarian, but my
friend here would like to know if the steak is any good. What do you think?”

Does traditional western medicine have all the answers? No way.Do I think that massage can
do things a pill can’t? Absolutely.Do I think oncologists want people to suffer and die from
cancer? No, I do not!Do you?

We don’t have to place
ourselves beneath western medicine or agree with everything it presents. We
don’t have to completely adopt the language of doctors and nurses and abandon
our own, but do we have to learn to understand it. And we have to learn to respect the people who speak it. It is our only hope for teaching them to
understand and respect us.

My colleagues, I beg you:

Examine your
beliefs and their sources. There is a lot of “research” out there and a good deal of
it is incomplete or poorly done or just plain wrong.

Focus on your
scope of practice. Do what you are trained and qualified to do and do it well.
My dentist doesn’t offer foot rubs and I’m not going to clean your teeth. I
will, however, help you with that neck and jaw tension that results from an
hour in a dental chair getting your teeth scraped! You need us both.

Remember that we all want to help people. And that the best help can come (and should come) in
many different forms, from many different angles.

Let’s abandon “alternative”
once and for all and embrace “complimentary.” In a world of widening divides –
racial, economic, political, etc. – let’s reach across the aisle and start to close the gap. Let’s stop
waiting for the medical community to come to us and reach out to them. Let’s find
a lingua franca. Let’s all talk the communal talk of people who are trying to
help other people while we walk our own unique walks.

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About Me

Kerry has worked as a massage therapist since 2005. She received her initial massage training at the Palmer Institute of Massage and Bodywork. She has advanced training in Oncology, Prenatal, and Thai Massage.
Kerry is a member of ABMP, Oncology Massage Alliance, National Lymphedema Network, and is a preferred provider of the Society for Oncology Massage.
In addition to practicing massage, Kerry has been a massage educator since 2005. She has taught courses in Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Research, Clinical Reasoning, Prenatal Massage, and massage for people in treatment for or with a history of cancer.
Since 2000, Kerry has also worked as a yoga instructor, specializing in Vinyasa, Prenatal, and Chair Yoga. She holds 200 & 500-hour yoga teacher certifications and is recognized by the Yoga Alliance as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher.